Mind The Gap

America’s British population has taken to the web to voice its displeasure at news that U.S. candy giant Hershey has successfully blocked our much loved U.K.-produced chocolate from being exported to the land of the free.

‘Beatles Biggest Secrets’

Using a combination of new and exclusive interviews, “Beatles Biggest Secrets” delves into the inside story of the world’s greatest pop group, carrying explosive revelations about the extraordinary life (and behavior) of Liverpool’s favorite sons. This is the Beatles at their best – and their worst, the first fully rounded portrait to appear anywhere on television.

The film begins with Lennon’s death in 1980, but then tracks back to the early 1960’s at the time of the group’s formation and their early days in Liverpool. The story then travels forward through their careers from learning their craft in dingy strip joints to global domination as the world’s greatest ever pop icons. It covers their sexual adventures, romances, McCartney’s paternity suits, rumors of Lennon’s gay interlude, the drugs, the money, the rivalry, and the break up of the band. The film makes its way back to 1980 and Lennon’s death.

The program features many interviews with significant individuals who were part of The Beatles phenomena. Allan Williams, The Beatles first manager, talks about his duty to keep the band’s girlfriends a secret from the press, paying off women who had affairs with the band to keep them quiet, Tony Barrow, The Beatles PR man adds to this, “There are women in Liverpool who had children fathered by Beatles, they just never kissed and told.” Barrow also talks about Lennon’s relationship with his homosexual manager Brian Epstein, “Lennon was an intrepid sexual adventurer,” says Barrow, “He would have tried out anything.” Major musicologists celebrate their brilliance, but the film also charts those incidents their publicists would prefer to be kept quiet. Other interviews included from their chauffeurs, concert promoters, PA’s and family & friends.

The Beatles songs are played throughout – sometimes to add emotional counterpoint but on other occasions to explain the inspiration or origins of the composition e.g. George Harrison’s ‘Taxman,’ written in protest against a tax regime where the Beatles paid 98p in the pound.

This is a film about sex, drugs and rock and roll, and as ever with the music industry, it’s also about lawyers and money.